A seven-time Cup champion and inaugural NASCAR Hall of Famer, Petty knows something about winning, considering he won a record 200 times at the Cup level.

A co-owner of Richard Petty Motorsports, Petty is glad that Patrick is competing in NASCAR. The former IndyCar driver is entering her third season of full-time NASCAR racing and second at the Cup level for Stewart-Haas Racing. Last year, she finished 27th in the standings with her only top-10 finish an eighth in the Daytona 500, the highest finish for a woman ever in the event. She started on the pole for that race, the only Cup pole ever won by a female.

“If she’d have been a male, nobody would ever know if she’d showed up at a race track,” Petty said, according to the Wheels Automotive Network website. “This is a female deal that’s driving her. There’s nothing wrong with that, because that’s good PR for me. More fans come out, people are more interested in it. She has helped to draw attention to the sport, which helps everybody in the sport.”